Ethereum (ETH) Remains Inflationary as Circulating Supply Spikes

full version at beincrypto

In the last month, 58,680 Ether (ETH) coins worth above $198 million at current market prices have been added to circulation.

This has pushed the altcoin’s circulating supply to an eight-month high of 120.22 million ETH.

Ethereum Supply Climbs to Multi-Month High

An asset’s circulating supply refers to the number of coins or tokens that are currently available to the public. It does not include coins or tokens that are locked, reserved, or otherwise unavailable for trading.

ETH’s circulating supply fell to a year-to-date low of 120.07 million on April 11. However, as the network experienced a decline in user activity, the reduction in the amount of coins burned led to an increase in the number of ETH circulating in the market.

At 120.22 million ETH at press time, the altcoin’s circulating supply sits at a high last observed in December 2023.

Ethereum Circulating Supply. Source: YCharts

ETH witnesses an uptick in circulating supply when user activity on its network drops. On-chain data from IntoTheBlock confirms this has been the case for the proof-of-stake (PoS) network.

For example, in the last week, the number of unique addresses that have completed at least one transaction involving the altcoin has plummeted by 13%. Due to this, the count of daily transactions executed on Ethereum has decreased.

Ethereum Daily Active Addresses. Source: IntoTheBlock

This drop in Ethereum’s user activity has manifested in declining total value locked (TVL) across its decentralized finance (DeFi) ecosystem and low sales volume in its non-fungible token (NFT) sector.

According to DefiLlama, Ethereum’s DeFi TVL has cratered by 7% in the last month, reaching $58.96 billion. During the same period, its NFT vertical’s sales volume has plummeted by 43%, per data from CryptoSlam.

ETH Price Prediction: The Leading Altcoin is Poised For More Gains

At press time, ETH trades at $3,392. Its price has surged by over 10% in the past seven days, and the coin appears ready to extend its gains.

It currently trades above its 20-day exponential moving average (EMA) on a one-day chart. An asset’s 20-day EMA tracks its average price over the past 20 trading days.

When its price climbs above this level, it indicates a shift towards a bullish trend. The short-term price momentum is turning positive, with recent prices trading higher than average over the past 20 days.

If the uptrend continues, ETH’s next price target is $3,448.